


Everybody Changes

by kellou24



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-06-18
Updated: 2010-06-17
Packaged: 2017-10-17 03:46:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/172573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kellou24/pseuds/kellou24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 years can change a person. Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl. If I did Nate and Jenny would already be together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl. If I did Nate and Jenny would already be together.

* * *

Despair. Shame. Regret.

Those seem to be the only emotions I'm capable of right now.

You know that feeling you get when your watching a horror movie and right after the scary part where you involuntarily give a cringe worthy impression of a scream queen, you feel foolish and embarrassed of your reaction.

Well that times ten is how I feel right now.

I shouldn't of went after Nate. I shouldn't of tried so ruthlessly to break-up him and Serena. And most importantly I shouldn't have gave my virginity to Chuck.

But I can't blame him.

These are my mistakes and I can't pin this on anyone but myself.

Not Chuck for taking the virginity of an admittedly desperate 16 year old. Not Dan for not being there for me when I needed him. And not dad for being so absorbed in his problems with Lily to see my desperate cry for help.

I can't blame my punishment for being exiled to Hudson on them. They're just trying to help me.

And when I return, I will make it up to them.

I will atone for my mistakes.

"Now boarding Platform 42 to Hudson."

* * *

A/N: Okay this is the prologue to my new story. I already have six chapters completed so I will update this again next week. Also if your one of those people that listen to music while reading I'm creating a fan-mix for this story. For this chapter Nobody's Home just seemed perfect. What do you think? And remember reviews are love3


	2. 5 Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl. If I did Nate and Jenny would already be together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gossip Girl. If I did Nate and Jenny would already be together.

* * *

I walked through the gate and was greeted by one of the greatest sights in the world.

"Aunt Jenny!" Squealed my adorable nephew. He ran over to me and I dropped my bags and lowered myself to the ground to pick him up and spun him around in a circle.

"Hi handsome!" I exclaimed loudly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He pretended to wipe it off and muttered gross under his breath. "Where's your dad?" He rolled his eyes and pointed behind him and I looked over his shoulder to see my brother running towards us with a book bag in his one hand, a caramel latte in the other and a wide smile on his face. I couldn't help but return it with one of my own. I lowered my nephew to the ground and stood up to hug him.

"Hey Jen," he greeted, looking me over to see if I'd changed in the two weeks since I last saw him.

"Hi Dan. So Will just get out of school?" I asked picking up my discarded bags and grabbing the latte and taking a sip of it before he could protest. Dan just shook his head at me.

"What gave it away, the book bag in my hand or the gleeful expression on his face?" he asked sarcastically.

"Ah. There's that Humphrey sarcasm. Hopefully Will takes after his aunt Jenny and will be immune to its seductive powers," I said wiggling my fingers in front of me.

Dan just shook his head and called me a weirdo while taking my bags from me and opening the door to the cab for me and helping me slide in first, then helping Will get in the middle before putting my bags in the trunk and getting in himself. I gave the driver the address and we started the short ride to Brooklyn.

"So Jen how's the boyfriend?" Dan asked after a short silence.

"He's great. He's moving up in a few weeks after visiting his parents in Pittsburg." I was trying not to get to excited about the thought of what I have planned for when he gets here. I could tell I failed when Dan rolled his eyes at me. Will was apparently transfixed by the sights outside the window from where he was leaning over his dads lap and appeared to be pretty oblivious to anything we were talking about.

"I thought Ana was supposed to be with you," said Dan referring to my roommate/best friend who was supposed to arrive with me today.

"She should be getting in later tonight, provided she doesn't get distracted by pretty things in store windows. Apparently she had a few last minute errands to run which is code for a sale at Copper Penny,"

I said as the cab pulled up to my building. We paid the cabbie, got my bags out of the trunk and walked together up the steps to the main door. We entered the building and walked up the stairs to the door of my apartment.

"I can't believe you were able to get this place," Dan said putting my bags down while observing the loft that had been our childhood home and Dan place in college before he couldn't afford it and Will's baby stuff and had to much pride to ask dad for money.

"Just got lucky," I said looking around and couldn't help getting caught up in the feeling of nostalgia I got looking around at the only place I ever felt was home. "Can you believe it still looks the same?" I asked him. "Albeit without furniture to give it that homey touch." I added quickly.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I can almost smell dad's chili." He said. I felt a wave of sadness hit me at the thought of my father. I'd like to say that my moving away improved our relationship, but I'd be lying. While my relationship with Dan was better than ever, I couldn't say the same for my relationship with my father.

"Yeah, me too," I said trying to hide the quiver in my voice. "Hey, Will you want to see the balcony?" I asked quickly trying to change the subject.

"Can I dad? Can I?" Will asked excitedly.

"Sure son," Dan said, clearly catching on to me changing the subject and gave me a sad smile that I returned. I hate feeling pitied when people hear about the situation with my father but Dan's the only one that knows the whole story and I'll always be secretly thankful that he chose my side in the argument that lost him a father too.

* * *

A/N: Okay so this was a completely different from what I originally wrote for this chapter but I'm definately happier with this one than the original. Also in case your wondering why Amanda Seyfried is in the banner (if you look at them on my profile) well I see her as the older more mature Jenny and not that I don't love Taylor Momsen I just don't really like her look right now. So what did you think of this chapter?


	3. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

May 30, 2010

"One Second!" I called putting my still wet hair in a bun. I was walking toward the door when whoever is on the other side of the door knocked again. "I'm coming! Geez," I muttered. I unlocked the deadbolt and pulled open the door and couldn't help but gape at who was on the other side.

"Hey Jen," said my brother.

"Dan! What are you doing here?" I asked wondering what he was doing here considering he hasn't talked to me since my departure from the Humphrey/Van Der Woodsen home. "It's not dad is it?" I asked worriedly.

"Do you mind if I come in? It's a long story."

"Oh of course. Come on in," I stepped aside, holding open the door. He stepped through the doorway and I noticed something peculiar. "What's with the luggage?"

"I'm going to be staying awhile."

Shocked by his last statement, I quietly closed the door and followed him to the living room. He carefully set down his bags and took a seat on the couch. I followed suit, sitting down on the table across from him. He looked around slowly, silently observing the place and avoiding eye contact with me.

"So how's school?" He asked breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"It's fine. Dan what's going on?" I asked cautiously. I was curious as to why he would come here and I needed to know, no matter how uncomfortable he seemed with the subject and desperate he was trying to avoid the subject.

"Dad kicked me out of the loft," he said scratching the back of his head while I couldn't do anything but gape at him.

"Why?" I understood why I was kicked out but Dan's the golden boy. No way he would just kick him out.

"Georgina's pregnant."

"Wh-what?"

"That's almost an exact mirror of my reaction too."

"How could that happen?" I couldn't help asking.

"Well we had sex," he stated like a dumbass.

"Duh! I'm not stupid. What I mean is weren't you safe?" Dan had always been the responsible one in the family. Always over thinking every decision and scenario that could happen.

"Of course but it's not always effective," Suddenly a thought occurred to me.

"Dan, are you sure she's pregnant?" I asked cautiously.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"Well what I've heard about her is that she tries to mess with peoples lives and has a bit of a thing for you. I'm just saying are you sure she's not lying."

"Yeah I'm sure. She showed me a sonogram."

"Well you can fake those. Hell it could have been a squirrel for all you know." I pointed out shaking my head up and down.

"A squirrel?" He asked confused, eyebrows furrowed and the first smile, albeit a small one, I'd seen on his face since he got here.

"Yeah, 'Baby Mama,' ring any bells."

"No Jen it was real and so is her baby bump," he said laughing. "Besides if you do the math it makes sense."

"How far along is she?"

"About 4 months."

"Wow! I can't believe your going to be a dad."

"That makes two of us."

We sat there, both of us shaking our heads in disbelief, before I decided to bring up something else.

"Okay we'll come back to this later, but what do you mean dad kicked you out?"

"Let's just say he didn't take it to well. Apparently I was stupid and now I've ruined my life."

"That is so hypocritical."

"Exactly what I said. Well anyway we got into an argument, I said some stuff I shouldn't of said and basically I pissed him off so much that he told me he's not paying for the loft anymore and since I can't afford to stay there I'm hoping to stay here for a little while," He finished awkwardly shrugging his shoulders.

"You must have really pissed him off. What did you say?" I questioned knowing dad wouldn't help his kid unless you hit a really sore spot in his ego. I should know considering I've used them all and that's what got me exiled from the UES.

"I brought up how he hasn't exactly been father of the year, him being to focused on his marriage problems to pay attention to the rest of his family and him jumping the shark in sending you away. I don't even know why I said it. I guess he just kept listing all of my failures and I just snapped." He said rubbing his forehead.

"Who else knows about Georgina?"

"Just you and dad. Although by now I'm sure everyone else knows. I've known for about two weeks but I didn't want to bring it up while Chuck was in the hospital."

"Chuck's in the hospital?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah he was shot. I figured dad told you."

"Dad hasn't called me since I arrived. In fact no one from home has called me."

"I'm sorry about the way I handled things before you left and for not being there for you," he said suddenly.

"Water under the bridge," I said waving my hand in front of me. "Besides I probably would of still done that stuff."

We both laughed and for the first time since coming here I feel at home. It seems like things are almost getting back to normal. You know except for the whole Dad's an ass thing. That's going to take some getting used to. But I guess anything can happen. After all Georgina Sparks is my brothers baby mama.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are appreciated:D


	4. Fond Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

I was abruptly awaken from an amazing dream involving Robert Pattinson, chocolate syrup, handcuffs and me by the sound of banging and cursing coming from the kitchen, which could only mean one thing.

Ana was cooking again.

The girl may have many talents but cooking is not one of them. It's a hazard to your health.

I glanced over at the clock and couldn't help but want to kill my best friend. The bitch knew I wasn't a morning person. And why the HELL is she cooking at 6:30 in the morning anyway?

I got out of bed with a sigh of regret and slipped on my robe and slippers and started the trek to the kitchen. I navigated my way through boxes and saw over the bar Ana cracking an egg into the blender with cut up fruits and vegetables surrounding her. She had her long brown locks up in a bun on top of her head with stray pieces around her face and she was wearing a flannel pajama top with matching shorts and pink knee socks on her feet. She must of heard my footsteps because she looked up and gave me a mega watt smile.

"Morning Minnie!" She exclaimed happily with way too much pep in her voice for this early in the morning. She has to be on something. Probably crack.

"Morning," I said unhappily, sitting down on one of the stools and hunching over, my head resting on my arms. I jolted up when she suddenly started the blender. After about a minute she turned it off and poured some of her-whatever that is into a glass and took a sip. I could barely hold back my grimace at the sight of that green mulch my friend had just ingested.

"Want a shake?" Ana asked presenting the shake like Vanna White would present the next letter to the puzzle.

"What's in it?" I asked cautiously.

"Some beer, V8, apple peelings, pudding, butter, ranch, 2 eggs and mountain dew. I call it The Annihilator." She stated looking proud of herself.

"No thanks." I said with thinly veiled disgust in my voice. She just rolled her eyes, told me I'm too close minded for my own good, and went back to her disgusting creation she called a shake.

She came and sat in the chair next to me and we talked about non essential things while she finished her drink.

"So how's your hot brother?" she asked slyly.

"Uh would you please refrain from saying that?"

"What? That your brother's a total DILF?"

"Yes. You always do this. Do you know how awkward it is for me to hear about your obsession with my brothers abs?"

"Look you should blame it on our first meeting. From that moment on I was hooked."

"You know you have a boyfriend right?"

"Please, he's just there to get me through the lonely nights."

"Whatever." I said before changing the subject from my friends crush on my brother. "So when do you want to start unpacking this crap." I said gesturing to the boxes cluttering our apartment.

"Now's good for me." she said standing up and walking to the boxes. I had no choice but to follow her.

We each got a box and sat down on the floor. I opened my box and started going through the contents of the box. Most of it was knick knacks that Ana had bought when we were sharing our first apartment so I decided till Dan came over to install the shelf to start on another box. I pushed that box aside and right when I reached for another one I heard a laugh from Ana. She was holding up a picture that we'd had taken from the first day we officially became friends.

 _Halloween 2010_

 _I opened the door to the master bathroom and quickly stepped in hoping to get a second alone. I didn't want to come to this party but according to Dan, who by the way only had one good friend in high school, I needed to make friends. Hypocrite._

 _I closed the door behind me and walked to the mirror. I looked in the mirror and observed the changes since moving in with mom. I was still deathly pale as always. The most noticeable differences would be that I'd gained a little weight so my boobs were bigger and I didn't look like I was going to blow away, I'd gotten rid of the black eyeliner in favor of a more natural look and my hair isn't platinum blonde anymore. More golden like my natural color. I ran my hand threw my hair and took out the mouse headband. I was just about to readjust it when I heard a sound behind me. I turned around and looked but saw nothing. I was about to shrug it off and turn back to the mirror when I heard the sound again. It was coming from the shower. I moved forward and grabbed hold of the curtain and yanked it back to see what was making the sound._

 _Sitting in the tub was a crying brunette wearing a Harley Quinn costume, face paint and everything. You could tell she'd been crying because her face paint was running down her face. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and I couldn't help asking what happened._

" _My boyfriend." she replied in a monotone. I motioned to see if I could sit on the other end of the tub and she moved her legs to accommodate me. I sat down and we just stared at each other for a second._

" _What did he do?" I asked cautiously._

" _He was just trying to push me into something I wasn't ready for." She stated looking up at the ceiling._

" _Sex?" I asked to be sure._

" _Yeah"_

" _Did he try to force you?" I asked looking over at her to catch her expression. She pursed her lips, met my eyes and slowly shook her head yes. I bit my lip and pulled out my cell phone._

" _Who are you calling?" she asked watching me punch numbers._

" _Texting my brother actually. I'm going to have him come and pick us up." I said pushing send on my message. "Now we wait."_

" _What's your name?"_

" _Jenny."_

" _Mines Ana," she said before continuing. "So Minnie mouse huh?"_

" _Yeah. Used to be obsessed with the cartoon. Why Harley Quinn?"_

" _My boyfriend was the joker."_

" _Ah."_

 _We sat in silence for about two minutes avoiding each others eyes._

" _So how long till your brother gets here?" She asked curiously._

" _About five minutes."_

 _Just then my phone rang with Dan's name flashing on the screen. I picked it up and told him I was in the master bathroom. We both stood up, got out of the tub and she went to the mirror to fix her makeup. She had just got her makeup fixed when there was a frantic knock on the door. I opened the door to see my wide eyed brother who immediately upon seeing me grabbed my shoulders and frantically looked he over._

" _What happened?" He asked terrified. I guess I shouldn't of texted him 'Guy was a little handsy. Come help.' Oops._

" _Well so this guy dressed as the Joker was a little forceful to m-" I stopped short watching Dan take off running downstairs. I looked back at Ana and she was looking at me with a shocked expression which immediately changed to terror when we heard a crash downstairs. We both took off running downstairs and reached the last step only to stop short at the sight of my brother beating the shit out of some guy dressed as the joker._

" _Hey babe! Looks like Cooper's finally getting his ass kicked." Said some guy, also dressed as the Joker, putting his arm around Ana's shoulder. I looked at her and she mouthed 'wrong guy' to me._

 _Shit._

" _Dan!" I yelled frantically. He looked up at me with a look of pure rage on his face, blood on his knuckles aim fully poised to hit poor Jason Cooper again. "Wrong guy." I said giving him an apologetic smile and nodding my head to the right Joker. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and immediately dropped poor Jason on the ground, who let out a groan of pain when he hit the floor, and walked determined towards Ana's boyfriend. Upon seeing Dan walking towards him, the guy took his arm off Ana's shoulder and put his hands up in surrender. Dan threw one punch and everyone in the room heard the sound of the guys nose breaking. He fell on his ass holding his broken nose, which was gushing blood making an interesting contrast with the white face paint._

 _Everyone in the room could only stare at the scene in front of them. Two Jokers, bloody, lying on the floor in pain and my brother standing in the middle of the scene, shaking out his right hand._

 _Suddenly Dan cleared his throat and looked at me before motioning to the door and walking out. I looked over at Ana only instead of her eyes meeting mine with the same amount of incredulous shock in our eyes, I saw her eyes following my brothers form with one hand over her heart and an expression of, what can only be described as awe, on her face. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand to pull her along with me. We were almost to the door when someone with a camera stepped in front of us and quickly took a picture of us before running off. Now I'm pissed. I wasn't even posed right!_

 _I pulled her along behind me and found my brother leaning against a cab door. He opened the door for us but before I got in I asked one more favor of my brother._

" _Dan you see that guy with the camera and the glasses?" I asked innocently pointing over at the guy who'd just taken my picture. He nodded. "Well he'd taken some inappropriate pictures of me earlier an-" He took off running before I was even finished and I couldn't hold back my triumphant smile, getting in the cab and putting my arm around a still swooning Ana's shoulder._

 _It was good to have a brother who jumps to conclusions._

 _Sometimes._

A/N: So what did you think? Do you like Ana? What about Dan kicking ass? Tell me what you think!


	5. Coffee Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

* * *

Stupid Ana and her stupid new diet. What kind of diet says you can't drink coffee?

I'll tell you what kind: A stupid one.

Now because of her stupid new diet I'm currently in line at one of the many Starbucks in New York waiting to get my coffee and hoping to make it to my new job as the assistant of Alice Roi. I just knew that if I do my job and don't give up I could finally get the break I felt I deserved.

The line slowly started moving forward and I could just barely hold back my groan of annoyance and was silently cursing Ana to hell in my head. I sighed and adjusted my purse and bag that held my sketches inside on my left shoulder and pulled my blackberry from the pocket at the front of my dress with my right hand, to check the time. Luckily I still had about forty minutes before I was late.

After a few minutes the line had moved forward enough that I was next in line. The guy in front of me received his drink and I quickly placed my order and paid. It took about two minutes to make a white chocolate mocha and as soon as the drink was in my hand I took off out the front door. I'd only walked about a block away when someone collided into me causing me to drop my bags and spill coffee down my front. Lucky for me it was an iced coffee otherwise that shit would of hurt.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" Apologized a distinctly male voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

I opened my eyes that I'd previously had tightly closed to see a muscular figure kneeled down next to my bags and was fingering through the sketches that had fallen out of the bag. Panicked, I quickly knelt down and snatched the sketches out of his hands and stuffed them back in the bag.

"It's fine but I really need to be going now," I said abruptly and stepped around him and started to walk away when his next words drove me to a halt.

"Jenny?"

I quickly turned around, met his gaze and was immediately assaulted by memories of the person in front of me.

"Nate." I said nodding my head to him in greeting and wishing the butterflies in my stomach would disappear.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are lovely.


	6. Bad Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing.

* * *

Palms sweating. Heart beating out of control. Stomach tied in knots. The feeling of impending doom.

Anticipation.

That's the only word to describe the way I'm feeling right now.

Here I am sitting in a cab on the way to the Upper East Side aka Hell on Earth.

I haven't been here in five years and I'd hoped never to return again. As childish as it may seem I really wanted to crawl under my bed right now.

I don't even know why I'm going to **His** party. It's not like he wants me there anyway. Oh now I remember. Ana. The a-hole convinced me it would be a good idea to go to this ridiculous party. That I'd be able to find out what's going on and as she put it 'back those assholes into a corner they can't get out of.'

And now here I am, sitting in a cab wearing a black dress and heels, desperately wishing I was anywhere else but here when the cab comes to a stop outside the Empire hotel. I pay the man and step out of the cab, silently observing the hotel Chuck Bass had a hand in making. I nervously smooth down my black dress and start to walk towards the entrance before turning around right before I reach the steps. I pace for a second, over thinking the million outcomes to me showing up to this party. I finally calm myself and turn myself back to the entrance but I stop short when my eyes immediately catch those of Nate Archibald, who is leaning against the building with a joint in his hand and an amused expression on his face. Clearly he had been enjoying my mini freak-out. Of course it could be the pot that makes this funny. Probably not though. Looking at him now makes me remember that he's also to blame for my being at this party.

 _Two Weeks Ago_

" _I forgot you moved back." He said shaking his head embarrassed. I was a little confused about how he knew I'd moved back but before I could question him about it he continued. "So what you've been back home about two weeks now right?" He asked curiously._

" _Uh, yeah. Look I'm sorry it's great to see you but I have to get to work. It's my first day and I really don't want to be late." I said giving him my best fake smile before turning around only to stop short at his next words._

" _That's fine. I guess I'll see you at Rufus' party. By the way congratulations on working with Alice Roi." I quickly spun back around to stare at him with a confused expression on my face._

" _Why would you say that?" I asked abruptly._

" _What do you mean?" He asked confused as to what I was talking about._

" _Why do you think I'd be at his party? I mean I've barely spoken to my father in a year and as far as I know I wasn't invited to any party. And how did you know I was working with Alice Roi?" I asked confused. I was now right up in his personal space and I had been unconsciously poking him in the chest and judging by his flinch it must of hurt._

" _Wait! What do you mean you've barely spoken to him in a year? He just came back three weeks ago from visiting you in South Carolina." He said shocking me. "He even had pictures." He added before he went on to explain. "Dan was even with him that day talking about how you all went and had oysters with you and your roommate Ana. And then Rufus mentioned your new job."_

 _Okay so now I'm officially weirded out. Suddenly a thought came to me._

" _When'd you say the party was?" I asked pursing my lips praying I was wrong._

" _Two weeks." I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth plotting ways I was going to kill Dan. I guess in Dan language 'I'm being honored for my writing at this party, mind watching my kid' really means 'I'm lying to you to help the father who screwed us both over, mind watching my kid while I do it.'_

' _Damn it, Dan.'_

" _Hey you okay?" Nate asked concerned._

" _Yeah I'm fine. So where's the party at?" I asked getting back to the matter at hand._

" _The Empire." He said cautiously. He tried to put a comforting hand on my shoulder but I just shrugged him off._

" _Well I have to go but this conversation has been very informative." I said turning around before I quickly spun back around and added, "And it'd be highly appreciated if you didn't happen to tell anyone about the conversation we just had. Specifically my dad and Dan." He nodded his head quickly so I turned back around and started walking to my new job. I pulled out my cell phone and sent Ana a text telling her we needed to talk later._

 _To quote the great Ricky Ricardo: 'Danny you have some explaining to do.'_

"Hello. Earth to Jenny," Nate said pulling me out of my memory by waving a hand in front of my face.

"What?" I asked.

"Ready to go in." He said before taking a drag of his joint.

"Yeah just give me a moment." I said ringing my hands together and trying to work my plan over in my head again.

"Want a hit?" He asked offering me his joint.

"Wow I never thought I'd see the day where Nate Archibald would offer me drugs." I said sarcastically.

"Well you have to take into consideration that I met you when you were fourteen and you left right before your seventeenth birthday. Plus no matter how messed up I am I'm not going to offer drugs to a kid."

"I'm only two years younger than you," I said laughing.

"Semantics," he shrugged before offering me the joint again. "Come on. It'll help you relax."

"And what makes you think I need to relax?"

"Well besides the fact that your incredibly tense and nervous, I can also see that your still pissed and if you don't get a handle on yourself now your going to go in there and do something you'll regret."

With that helpful bit of logic I wordlessly took the joint out of his hand and brought it up to my lips before taking a long slow drag, shutting my eyes and savoring the euphoric feeling, before just as slowly blowing the smoke out feeling my tense shoulders relax and the rest of me unclench. I opened my eyes to see Nate staring at me with heavy lidded eyes. Startled, I quickly handed the joint back to him and started towards the building, muttering a small thanks to him on my way. I walked into the building and gave a small wave to the security guard watching the monitors before pushing the up button for the elevator. It opened with an abrupt _ding_ and I stepped through, pushing the button for the penthouse and watched the elevator doors close just as slowly as they opened. I placed a hand on my stomach, trying hard not to vomit. I tried to reason with myself. Justify that what I was about to do was the right thing. That I wasn't making a mistake coming to this party and reacquainting myself with the rules and society of the Upper East Side.

I took a deep breath and brushed a hand through my curls watching with a sense of dread as the elevator doors opened.

I stepped out of the elevator and immediately wished I hadn't. Seeing all eyes swerve to me in a room full of people that at sometime in my adolescence I'd screwed over made me realize that there was another word for this feeling.

Fucked.

When I caught sight of my dad's shocked face it just cemented the fact that what I'm about to do was worth the self-hate I'd have to deal with later.

"Daddy!" I squealed running towards him and giving him a big hug in a room full of a hundred of his gossip hungry friends and their cell phones. I pulled back and took one look at his astonished face before continuing. "Sorry. I guess it just feels like I haven't spoke to you in forever when in actuality it's only been what five weeks. By the way Ana says hi and that we should all go out for oysters sometime." I say with a big smirk on my face causing him to chuckle nervously.

* * *

A/N: Yep. *Clears Throat* So what did you think? *Smiles Nervously*


	7. Explanations & Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing.

* * *

I had just started a stimulating conversation with the Ambassador of France and his wife when Dan came up behind me, grabbing my arm.

"Do you mind if I borrow my sister for a second?" he asked with a falsely sincere tone and giving them a big politicians smile. They nodded yes and I gave them a small wave as Dan pulled me behind him towards an empty study. He shut the door behind him and immediately rounded on me. "Just what do you think your doing?" he asked.

"I'm attending my father's party. After all wouldn't it be a little weird if Rufus Humphrey's daughter wasn't in attendance since they're so close. I mean after all she doesn't have the excuse not to be here now that she's living in New York again." I say practically spitting out the last few words causing him to flinch and slouch against the door.

"What do you want?" he asked monotonously. I stared at him a second before replying.

"The truth."

He sighed and ran a hand through his short dark hair. "Mind narrowing it down a little more?" He asked sarcastically.

"Okay. How about we start with why is Dad lying to everyone? Or how about why your covering for him? Or better yet, why have you been lying to me?" I stared into his eyes with a look of indifference on my face.

"It's a long story." He said hesitating.

"I don't care."

"Fine. Well it started about two years ago-"

"Wait! This has been going on for two years." I said shocked.

"Would you mind not interrupting?" He asked clearly agitated at being interrupted.

"Sorry. Go on." I said trying to reign in my temper.

"Well anyway it was right after you and Ana had moved to South Carolina, Will and I were still living with mom and Ron and I'd been trying to get a job for my writing and get out of that hell hole so I could get up enough money to get Will and I our own place when out of the blue dad calls asking if I'd meet him for lunch and so I being the overly curious person that I am agreed. I arrived and the second I sat down he started spewing this crap about how he missed the way our family used to be and that he wanted to meet his grandson and be in his life blah, blah, blah. So anyway me not believing this for a second, considering the fact that he'd barely called in three years and in the past hadn't even wanted to meet "the mistake", told him to cut the bullshit and tell me what he really wanted. Well he starts going on in this long tirade about how Lily wanted us back in their lives and that they'd been trying to have a baby but Lily didn't want another kid until our family was back to how it used to be so he basically offered me money and an apartment in New York just to come to family gatherings and pretend we were all one big happy family." He finished letting out a bitter laugh and smiled sardonically, waiting for me to absorb everything he just said.

"What about me? He never asked for my participation." I said confused.

"Well one: since you were going to school and had this whole new life in South Carolina he could easily come up with excuses about how busy you were. And two: You wouldn't of went for it."

"Why do you say that?" I asked curiously.

"Your to stubborn. You would of flew all the way here and told Lily the truth just to spite dad." I nodded my head knowing that I would of. "Besides the only reason I didn't do it was because I was desperate. Between paying off Georgina's treatment bills and trying to support Will alone I was ass deep in debt and I honestly couldn't see anything else I could do." He let out a heavy breath and ran an agitated hand through his hair.

"I didn't know it was that bad." I responded biting my lip hard enough to taste blood.

"How could you? It's not like I ever told you how bad it was." Which is true because every time I'd asked he'd just shrug it off and said he had it covered.

"I would of helped." I said needlessly. He looked at me and gave me a sad smile.

"I know you would of."

"You still should of told me though." I said letting him know that even if I understood why he did what he did I was still pissed about being lied to.

"I know I should of told you but considering how good our relation is I didn't want to chance ruining it." He seemed to be thinking something over before deciding to just go for it. "Who told you anyway?" He asked hesitantly.

"Nate Archibald." I responded.

"How did he know?" He asked clearly confused.

"Well he didn't technically. I ran into him, and I mean literally ran into him, outside a Starbucks and he kind of let it slip about the "Trip" you and dad took to South Carolina and the party tonight so I kind of put two and two together."

" Huh," He sighed again and suddenly something he said earlier occurred to me.

"Hold on a minute! Baby? They want to have a kid."

"Yeah. They've been going to a special fertility doctor for about a year and half now." He said nodding his head and pursing his lips. "Actually that's what the party's for. Looks like your going to be a big sister." Another thought suddenly occurred to me.

"They're still having sex." I said with a disgusted expression on my face.

"Jenny they're only in their late 40's." He said with a small laugh.

"Oh god. I think I'm going to vomit." I said putting a hand over my mouth and shutting my eyes trying to block out the thought of my dad having sex.

"Stop being so melodramatic. Come on we better get back to the party." He said grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. He stopped right before he opened it though. "Jen. I know your pissed at dad, even more than usual, but could you please keep quiet about this to Lily? It's just she's been really good to me and Will ever since I moved back and I'd really appreciate it if you kept quiet." He asked.

"I'll think about it." I said walking around him toward the door and started to open it but Dan grabbed my wrist causing me to look back at him.

"I'm serious. Please don't say anything." He begged. I swallowed the lump in my throat and whispered okay before slipping out of his grip and out of the door.

I quickly dodged my way through the crowd, carefully avoiding friends of my father's and Lily's while on the lookout for either a waiter or the bar. Preferably the bar.

I had just spotted the waiter and was about to grab a glass of champagne when I was suddenly grabbed and pulled into some room from behind. I heard the door shut and I was about to scream when the person that grabbed me must of sensed it because whoever it was suddenly put a hand over my mouth and spoke in my ear.

"It's Nate." He slowly lifted his hand from my mouth and flipped on the light switch. My eyes quickly adjusted and the second he let go of me I turned around and pushed him hard in the chest causing him to stumble back and rub his chest while muttering a soft ow.

"You scared the hell out of me." I said trying to control my heavy breathing. I looked around and saw that he had dragged me into a bathroom. I shook my head and was about to leave when what he said next got my attention.

"Well I'm sorry and to make it up to you I got you a little present." He said before pulling out a full bottle of Jose Cuervo and another joint. "Can you ever forgive me?" He asked putting on his best mock innocent look. I just shook my head at him and took the bottle out of his hands before replying.

"Only if I get first hit." I said before opening the shower curtain and sitting down in the tub.

40 Minutes Later

"-And then the little girl just kept coming forward barking at me, and just when she was about to start clawing my face, I woke up." I said taking an anxious breath and I looked over at him with wide eyes to see him looking at me with a blank face before he burst out laughing. To say my feelings were hurt was an understatement. So I reacted the only way my drug hazed mind could think of.

"Ow!" He yelped wrapping his arms protectively around his stomach that I'd just slapped. Although it may seem a bit extreme to hit him, I can't say I didn't enjoy his pain. Maybe if this fashion thing doesn't work out I could have a future as a dominatrix. I bet dad would just love that.

"That's what you get for laughing at me."

"I'm sorry okay. It's just when we were talking about our biggest fears I didn't expect you to be afraid of a little girl." He said trying to keep a straight face as he uttered the last few words.

"First of all the little girl has claws that were trying to fuck my face up and second, do I need to remind you of your worse fear?" I asked deviously, smirking at him.

"Hey! Worrying about my penis shrinking is not a joke." He replied seriously.

"Well I guess if you just rule out masturbating and swimming, basically anything that involves stress in that area, you should be fine." I said giving a small laugh before taking the last swig of tequila.

"Whatever." He said sullenly before putting out the joint. We sat there in silence for a moment before he decided to speak again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked confused. After all why would he be apologizing about laughing at one of my fears. Even I know it's stupid.

"For not being there when you needed me."

"What the hell are you going on about?" I asked having no clue what he was talking about.

"I should have been the one you talked to that night. Not Chuck. Maybe then things would have been different." I just stared at him for a minute before bursting out laughing.

"You can't be serious," I said trying to reign myself in. When I saw his serious expression I figured I should explain something to him. "Look it wasn't like he forced me. That's one thing you and Dan just can't seem to understand. Besides if it wasn't him it probably would have been someone else."

"Maybe but I can't stand that that happened to you. I mean you deserve an apology from him."

"Actually he already has apologized."

"Really?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah. Um probably about a month or two after his accident he called me," I said trying to think back. "He apologized and asked if I could ever forgive him."

"And did you?" He asked curiously.

"What's there to forgive? I mean it was a mistake we both made. So stop stressing over something that happened five years ago." I said patting him on the thigh. I was about to move my hand away when he grabbed it and entwined our fingers together. We looked into each others eyes before his moved to my lips and he licked his before leaning forward only to be stopped by my hand on his forehead right before his lips touched mine. He moved back slowly and looked at me with a look of confusion on his face.

"I have a boyfriend." I said.

"Oh right. I'm sorry." He said running a hand over his face. I decided to take pity on him.

"It's weird being on the receiving end of that." I said trying to make a joke.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"Well it's usually you that has a significant other and I'm usually the one trying to kiss you, not the other way around." I said giving a small laugh before taking another drink of tequila, savoring the burn and bitter aftertaste.

"True. So I guess I should start trying to seduce you away from him, right?" He asked mockingly.

"Oh come on. I wasn't that bad." I said thinking back to the old days where my whole life was centered around fitting in and my practically non-existent relationship with Nate Archibald.

"I don't know. I seem to remember you walking around in my t-shirts and trying to get me drunk."

"Hey! I told you I wore your shirt purely for comfort. Nothing else. Besides not my fault it looked good on me." I quipped back. He was silent for a second and when I looked over at him he seemed to be having some internal battle with himself.

"I should probably thank you." He said.

"Thank me for what?" I asked, confused on where his mind had gone.

"For help speeding along my breakup with Serena." He clarified. I just stared at him for a second before letting out a very unladylike snort.

"Okay your officially high." I said laughing at him.

"What?"

"You must be high if your actually thanking me for helping ruin one of your many relationships." I explained.

"No I'm serious. I really do want to thank you."

"Yeah in what way did I help you? I mean if anything I probably caused more bad than good."

"What I mean is, I was blinded by her faults because I'd always seen her as being perfect and even though you did it for your own reasons, you really opened my eyes to how bad our relationship really was." He explained.

"Bad? You were like practically perfect for each other. I mean the only time you guys actually fought was because of something I'd done so I don't see how you can thank me."

"That's just it though. It wasn't even really a relationship. It was two good friends having lots of sex. We both weren't honest with each other and as you said we didn't fight. I mean what makes a good relationship work is opening up to each other and actually wanting to fight to keep the relationship going. That's always been my problem with relationships. I never fight to make it work. I always just follow along to whatever the girl I'm with decides." He concluded.

"You're pretty smart when your high." I said causing him to laugh.

"Only when I'm high?" He asked smiling.

"Your already pretty you can't be perfect. That would just be cruel." He just shook his head at me before changing the subject.

"So tell me about this oh so amazing boyfriend." He asked suddenly.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked scrunching my nose up at him.

"Well hypothetically speaking, if I were to try to get you for myself I'd need to know a bit about my competition wouldn't I?" He replied. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not so I decided to just shrug it off.

"What do you want to know?"

"Does he make you happy?" He asked grabbing the bottle of tequila out of my hands and taking a swig.

"Yeah. He does." I said with a small smile playing on my lips. We both sat in silence for a moment before Nate stood up and held his hand out to help me up. I took it slowly and he pulled me up till I was pressed into his body almost intimately. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at me.

"Well we better get out there." He said stepping over the side of the tub.

"Yeah." I quickly followed him putting my feet back in my shoes, trying to ignore the doubt creeping back into my brain.

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A/N: So this is the longest chapter I've ever written. I liked it okay. What did you think?

Also I'd like to say that I've been blown away at the amount of reviews I've gotten for this story. I'm really happy that you all seem so interested in this story and I will try not to screw it up.


	8. Reunited And It Sucks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Could this be any more surreal?

I couldn't help but think that the only thing to make this event weirder would be if Georgina Sparks walked through the door. I'm sure Serena would rather sell her Jimmy Chu collection than be in the same room as her. She already has some weird problem being anywhere near Dan. She looks at him as if he was some angry protestor threatening to throw red paint all over her thousand dollar fur coat.

Did I mention the spoiled bitch is the new Paris Hilton? Sex tape and all. She even has her very own purse dog.

The first time I'd seen a picture of her in the tabloids, dancing on top of a table in some seedy bar, surrounded by a crowd of drunken men, I'd called Dan. I'd asked him if this was another one of her attention seeking moments like when she was trying to find her dad and he'd informed me that no as far as he was aware she was just partying and basically becoming what everyone always thought she would be. I'd never had to high an opinion of the girl but I never thought she'd reach that low a level. But I guess rich people with daddy issues become partiers and alcohol and drug abusers instead of poor people with issues who become strippers and prostitutes. I'm still not quite sure how I escaped unscathed.

And the only thing worse than Serena's behavior with Humphrey as a last name (dad doesn't count because he's pretty much adopted the title of Mrs. Van Der Woodsen. Guy seriously needs to grow a pair.) is dad trying to pretend to his (her) friends that we're all one big happy family. It seems that the only people not ignorant to this charade is the three of us. And Nate.

Dad was currently spinning some story about how the three of us had went to the beach when they'd come to visit me in South Carolina. I honestly can't believe they actually think this bullshit is true. I couldn't help digging my nails into Dan's leg, hearing him hiss in response.

"I don't think I can keep this up," I said leaning towards Dan and whispering in his ear.

"It's just for tonight. Just pretend for a little while longer and when it's over with will go back to your place and laugh about how ridiculous this whole party was." He said giving me an apologetic smile and patting me on the leg comfortingly.

I held in a breath of annoyance and wished that my buzz hadn't worn off. I'd unfortunately sobered up as soon as we sat down to eat.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of glass clinking. I looked up to see Lily and dad standing next to each other at the head of the table. Dad had a glass of champagne in one hand and a knife in the other.

"We have something to announce," said dad with a big smile growing on his face. "As some of you may know, we've been trying to have a baby for a while and it's finally happened," I grabbed onto Dan's arm, squeezing. "We're pregnant."

I knew it was coming yet I was still shocked. I heard Dan let out a choked sound and realized I'd been unconsciously squeezing his arm. I looked down and noticed the fingernail mark I'd left imprinted on his wrist. I gave him an apologetic smile and mouthed sorry to him. He just rolled his eyes and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Jenny," Lily said making me turn back towards where her and dad were standing. "I know we haven't been really close since you moved in with your mom and I'd like for that to change. And I was wondering if you'd like to throw me a baby shower. Maybe it'll give us a chance to make up for lost time." She said still smiling. I was about to make up some excuse and say no when my eyes locked onto dad's face.

He had sweat on his brow and looked panicked. His eyes locked on mine and clearly his were a warning, telling me to say no. Pleading with me not to go along with this. And that was his first mistake. Thinking I'd actually do anything he told me. He should of known better.

"I'd love to." I said standing up from my chair and giving her a hug. My eyes met his again over her shoulder and I couldn't resist smirking at him.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are appreciated:)


	9. First Meetings & Airport Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Warning: This chapter contains explicit sex between two consenting adults._

_Warning: This chapter contains explicit sex between two consenting adults._

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters._

* * *

 _July 29, 2014_

" _Excuse me, mind if I sit here?" Asked a smooth voice behind me._

' _Great. Another one.' I thought silently cursing in my head._

" _Listen buddy boy, I'll save you the trouble. I don't come here often, my father isn't an alien and I didn't fall from heaven so whatever line your about to use on me save it because I'm not interested."_

 _I turned around on the stool I was sitting to make sure I had gotten my point across and could barely keep myself from falling out of my seat at the sight in front of me. He is definitely one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen, and trust me I've seen a lot. He has dark green eyes, which were set off perfectly with his dark brown, almost black, hair. And judging from how tight his pants are in a certain area, he probably has a pretty big di-._

" _Presumptuous are we," he said causing me to snap my eyes up to his and away from my embarrassing ogling of his package. I couldn't tell for sure if he noticed my staring but judging by the amused look on his face, I'd say it was a safe bet he did._

" _Sorry?" I asked confused having not caught his last statement._

" _You just assuming I was hitting on you and shooting me down without even catching my name. I mean do you know what it takes for a guy to get up the courage to approach someone as beautiful as you with the risk of being shot down." He paused for a second, probably gauging my reaction, before continuing before I could say anything. "It's a good thing I have good confidence otherwise I might have never recovered from your rejection."_

" _Okay, I'm sorry for assuming you were hitting on me," I said before gesturing to the open seat next to me. "Have at it."_

" _Thank you." He replied before sitting down on the stool next to me. He orders a beer and everything's silent except for the sound of bottles clanking together and Oasis playing in the jukebox at the back of the crowded bar._

" _You're wrong you know." He says suddenly, breaking the silence that had grown awkward._

" _About what?" I asked curiously._

" _You were right to assume." I stared at him not understanding what he meant. "I was hitting on you." He said before taking a sip of his beer._

" _And you said I was presumptuous." I said teasingly, shaking my head in disbelief and smiling for the first time all night._

" _I was trying to save face." He quipped back shrugging his shoulders unapologetically._

" _Well it worked until you admitted I was right."_

" _Doesn't matter. In the end I got what I wanted anyway."_

" _Oh yeah, what's that?" I asked quirking an eyebrow in question._

" _I got to sit next to the pretty girl." He said before taking another sip of his drink. He turned back to me and gave me a smile showing off his dimples before putting out his hand. "I'm Jake."_

 _I looked at his hand for a second before taking it in mine and giving him a smile of my own._

" _Jenny."_

Present Day

I was walking through the airport terminal hoping to catch sight of my boyfriend when I was unexpectedly pulled into a strong embrace from behind. I felt the strong body behind me shake with suppressed laughter and then whiskers of a slight beard on my earlobe.

"Hey pretty girl." Whispered Jake's voice in my ear before he gave me a kiss on the cheek and released me from his strong hold. I turned in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck before leaning in and closing my eyes.

The second our lips touched everything else melted into the background. The people around us being greeted by family, friends and lovers. The sound of hello's and goodbye's being said. It all just melted into the background. All I was aware of was the overpowering scent of him. Certifiably male. The taste of his toothpaste. Spearmint. The feel of his strong arms wrapped around me, hands resting on my lower back, thumbs rubbing back and forth against the skin exposed between my t-shirt and jeans. Our lips massaged each others sensually, tongues tangling with each others in a battle for dominance.

I slowly pulled back breathing heavily before running a hand through my hair.

"Missed you." I said. He let out a sexy chuckle before bending down to give me a quick peck on the lips.

"I missed you too."

I licked my lips slowly watching his eyes follow the wet trail my tongue made. His eyes darkened with desire and I gave a low laugh before grabbing his hand and pulling him behind me towards the exit, knowing we had to get back to my place soon or risk getting caught having sex in public.

Legs wrapped around his waist with my back pressed against my bedroom door, I reached clumsily for the bottom of my t-shirt and slowly separated from his lips to pull it over my head in one fluid moment. He reached up and grabbed my bra covered breast and pinched and twirled my erect nipple causing me to throw my head back in ecstasy. His teeth came down hard on my neck and sucked on the skin available there making me moan a needy please in response.

He slowly separated from my neck and moved a denim clad leg between mine, balancing me on his thigh, before dropping his hands from my ass and pulling his shirt over his head, throwing it on the floor when he had it off. I started grinding on his thigh, searching for anything to please this ache in my body, while rubbing my hands down his chest, deliberately running my palm over the bulge in his pants.

He made a low groaning sound of approval in response before reaching behind my back and unclasping my bra in one easy motion. He grasped both of my breasts in his warm palms before leaning down and licking a straight line from my ribcage to my collarbone before playfully biting my shoulder.

He gently put me down and I immediately started working on his belt. He had me trapped against the wall, his arms boxing me in while I started pulling his pants down his legs. Once they were down to his ankles I moved back up his body. He walked me backwards to the bed, stumbling while trying to pull his pants off, before pushing me down on the bed causing me to bounce before laying on my back. I watched him strip off the rest of his jeans before he pulled down his boxers in one smooth movement.

Standing naked in front of me with his proud member standing erect and ready for attention, me naked except for a pair of jeans that had seen better days, I felt a shiver run through my body causing my nipples to tighten into soft buds.

Eyes locked on mine, he reached out, unclasping the button of my jeans and pulling my zipper down before shimmying both my jeans and underwear off my lower body. Once they were off he crawled up my body before settling between my spread legs. He kissed my lips softly first then harder once we'd established rhythm between us before moving his right hand between our bodies to rub against my clit.

He groaned feeling the wetness that had gathered between my legs then entered one finger at first before applying another and slowly moving them in and out of my body, tempo increasing with every thrust of his fingers. He deliberately rubbed the palm of his hand against my clit hard causing me to cry out. I quickly pulled his fingers out of me and rolled him over onto his back, straddling his waist. I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a condom out of the drawer before rolling it onto his member and positioning myself over him. I slowly eased down on him until he was all the way inside me. I rocked and twitched my hips in a teasing gesture before sliding up and down. He grabbed my hips with both of his hands and I leaned back, palms balancing on his thighs and body moving faster on top of him.

He sat up, still holding my hips in his hands trying to control my movements, and licked my left breast and bit down hard on my nipple causing me to shift in both pleasure and pain and moan a breathless sound. He tilted my head forward and gave me a soft kiss before flipping us over so he was on top and I was laying under him. He started thrusting in abandon, body supported above me by his elbows and knees digging into the comforter as he lifted me up by my ass and thrust faster into me, bringing me closer to my climax. He reached down and rubbed my clit forcefully with two wet digits. I screamed in pleasure as my orgasm was drawn out of me, face heating up and my lips stretching into a smile.

He thrust a few more times before climaxing himself and collapsing on top of me. He rolled over and we both lay there panting, trying to catch our breath.

"So about ten minutes of recovery time and then you'll be good to go right?" I asked looking over at him.

He laughed before rolling onto his side and supporting himself above me, kissing me deeply.

* * *

A/N: So, uh, sex. Yeah. *Clears Throat*

This was the first time I've written smut as you can probably tell by how terrible it was so I'm sorry you had to endure that. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews and I hope you enjoyed this chapter=)


	10. Guilty Conscience & Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately own nothing.

* * *

"I'll go get you a drink," Jake whispers in my ear, before kissing my temple and heading towards the bar.

I close my eyes and rub my forehead, silently cursing myself for keeping up with this ridiculous charade and not coming up with an excuse to back out of coming to this part. I'm grateful that at least Jake's here to run interference between Rufus and me.

I sighed and opened my eyes to see Nate approaching me. I gave him a small smile which he returned.

"Hey," He greeted.

"Hi," I dutifully replied back. "How are you?" I asked.

"Okay I guess. Just bored out of my mind." He said widening his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

"So what? You thought I'd be able to entertain you?" I teased.

He stroked his chin and looked deep in thought before replying. "Don't you know that you're here solely for my entertainment?" He asked with a smirk that could rival Chuck Bass' when he was in one of his devious moods.

I clutched my left hand to my chest in mock offense and playfully swatted his arm."How dare you make up such ridiculous lies? I'm here for everyone's entertainment." I said breaking into a bad Russian accent making us both laugh. I closed my eyes and clutched my stomach as the muscles started jumping from the laughter bubbling from my throat. I stopped laughing when I felt Nate's hands on my cheeks causing my eyes to snap open and meet his.

He had a soft look on his face as he moved a loose piece of hair that had fallen in my face behind my ear, eyes focused on my lips in such a mesmerized way that I had to swallow back my gasp.

His hand left my face and our eyes locked in a silent staring contest, neither of us blinking so we didn't break the moment.

I broke first, my eyes unintentionally straying to his pink lips. His tongue peeked out at the corner and he wet his lips. They were practically begging me to lean forward and—"

I blinked and gave a startled awkward laugh as I realized where my mind was going. Nate looked slightly disappointed for a second before his expression abruptly shifted, so fast that I almost thought I imagined it, to his regular easy going smile.

My eyes drifted over his shoulder and saw Jake walking towards me with two glasses of champagne in his hands and a curious expression on his face.

I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't notice what happened a moment ago and then I felt guilty for that thought.

'But there's nothing to be guilty about,' I silently amended myself. 'Nothing happened.'

Jake, who now stood next to me, handed me a glass and looked at Nate before looking back to me obviously waiting for an introduction.

"Oh, sorry, Jake this is Nate Archibald. Nate this is my boyfriend Jake Cooper." Hearing Nate's name Jake looked at me with a look of recognition on his face.

"Hey man," Jake put his hand out for Nate to shake, which after a moment of hesitation Nate did.

"Hey."

They let go of each others hands and Jake put his arm around my waist while Nate's eyes tracked all of his movements. A moment of awkward silence fell over us and I quickly downed my drink before handing the glass back to Jake.

"Baby, do you mind getting me another?" I asked.

"Sure," He gave me a small smiled before pecking me on the lips and walking to the bar again.

"You know I'm a little thirsty too. I'll be right back," Nate said as he walked to the bar to stand right beside Jake.

I sighed once they were both gone and pinched the bridge of my nose as I felt a headache coming on. I breathed out through my nose slowly and tried to suppress the pounding tempo playing in my head.

There was a loud crash and my head snapped up to see Jake standing over Nate punching him in the face as Nate was laid back on the counter of the bar. Everyone in the bar was shocked except Dan who came out of nowhere and started pulling Jake off of him. Jake was trying to squirm out of Dan's arms and get at Nate again but Dan must have said something to him because he stopped struggling and righted himself only shouting one last thing at him.

"Stay the hell away from her!" He shouted at Nate before turning around and walking towards me. "We're leaving." He said grabbing my hand and pulling me with him out the door, not giving me a chance to respond.

This is fine because I don't know what I'd say.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the hiatus everyone. I'd had a bit of writers block and I'd started a new story so everything was kind of out of wack but now I'm back. Reviews are appreciated.**


	11. Don't Know Why I'm Still Surprised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Note: This chapter is dedicated to _BAEFJNH09_ for all of her lovely compliments that pushed me to hurry up and finish this chapter.

* * *

I barely waited for the door to close behind us before I rounded on him.

"What was that?" I yelled at him. He just walked around me, angrily pulling his coat off and yanking off the tie I'd had him wear before throwing it on the floor in frustration once he had jerked it off.

"I don't want you to see him anymore," He said firmly as he unbuttoned and rolled up the sleeves of his white button down shirt.

"You're kidding me, right?" I asked incredulously, shocked at the jealous words that just left his lips.

"No, I'm not kidding you." He said angrily, meeting my eyes for the first time since we left the club. I was shocked at the coldness that reflected in his eyes, making me stagger back a step to get away from his glare. He clenched his jaw and his eyes left mine to stare instead at the far wall to my right. "I just don't want you anywhere near that guy, okay." He said quietly, eyes staring stonily at the wall.

"What did he say to you?" I asked cautiously, wondering what he could have said to make him this angry.

"Does it matter?" He asked eyes narrowing as he stubbornly stared at the wall instead of looking at me.

"Of course it matters. Why wouldn't it?" I asked incredulously, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Why do you need to know what he said? Why can't you just trust me? Why do you need a bigger reason than the fact that I don't want you seeing him anymore?" He asked, angrily yelling out the last question. I took an involuntary step back when he moved closer and he stopped short when he saw me step away from him, closing his eyes and running an agitated hand over his face. "I need to get out of here." He said suddenly, face expressionless as he picked up his coat off the floor and turned to walk to the door; away from me.

"Where are you going?" I asked desperately, my eyes wide. I quickly grabbed onto his wrist to keep him from walking out.

"I don't know." He said not meeting my eyes but not pulling his arm away either.

"Well when will you be back?" I asked, my voice choking up. He finally looked me in the eyes and a look of regret crossed over his face before he stepped closer to me and wrapped his muscular arms around me. I breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping my arms around him and pressing my face into his chest, breathing in the comforting scent of him. He kissed the top of my head and whispered something in my hair that I couldn't make out before letting me go and stepping back.

"I'll be back in a little while." He said as he opened the door.

"Wait you're still leaving?" I asked feeling confused. He stopped with one foot out the door and turned back to me.

"Jenny, I need to get out of here because if I don't I'm going to end up doing or saying something I'll regret later." He faltered for a moment as he looked at me before continuing. "Please stop crying." He begged, face appearing agonized.

I reached up and wiped off my cheek, feeling shocked as the lukewarm water hit my bare skin. I hadn't realized I'd been crying.

"I'll be back soon." He promised, stepping out the door and leaving me standing alone.

* * *

I was lying on the couch, back facing the door when I heard it open a few hours later.

"Jake," I asked hopefully, sitting up and turning to face the door. I deflated when I saw Ana and Will instead. Ana stared at me, or more importantly my red, puffy eyes.

"Sweetie, why don't you go change into your jammies?" Ana asked Will not taking her eyes off me. He wordlessly moved to the guest bedroom, sensing that the adults needed to talk.

"I see that Dan pawned him off on you." I said once he was out of earshot, offering her a weak smile.

"What happened?" She asked ignoring my comment and moving closer until she was sitting on the other end of the couch.

"I don't know. One minute everything's going great and the next he's punching out Nate Archibald and telling me to stay away from him." I confessed feeling even more confused than before.

"That's weird." Ana commented in a voice that sounded far away as she lounged back on the couch.

"Tell me about it." I said frustrated before continuing. "Oh and then he decided to storm off to god only knows where, leaving me here alone." I said crossing my arms over my chest. "Why would he do that?" I asked feeling exasperated.

"Because he's jealous." Ana said off-handedly as she stared off into space.

"Why would he be jealous?" I asked looking at her doubtfully.

"Well Jenny you were once in love with the guy." She said returning my look.

"Oh please, I was sixteen and it's not like we ever even dated." I said feeling like I had to explain myself.

"That may be true but there is history there and now you guys are kind of friends so I can see why he might feel threatened." She said making me pause. Before I could say anything, Will came back into the room, effectively ending this conversation.

Thank God for small favors.

* * *

I quickly stood up and made my way into the living room when I heard the door slam shut. I walked through the entryway to see Jake standing next to the door. He opened his mouth to say something but I quickly interrupted him.

"Look I don't know what he said to you or why you won't tell me but I just want you to know that you're right. It doesn't matter." I said walking towards him.

"Jenny-" I held up a hand, cutting him off.

"Let me finish." I said giving him a small smile before continuing. "I won't see him anymore if that will make you feel better but I just want to be sure that you know that I'd never cheat on you. I love you and I'd never do that to you." I said before closing the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around his stiff body but pulled back to look him in the eye when he didn't do the same. The look on his face was a mixture of love, sadness and a bunch of other emotions that I couldn't decipher but what stuck out to me was the regret I could see in his eyes.

"I slept with someone."

* * *

A/N: Dum, dum, dum... Cue dramatic music. Thank you all for your reviews and continued support and I hope that you're all satisfied with this chapter.


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